Month: July
Venue: nationwide (with special highlights at Tung Si Muang, Ubon Ratchathani and Phra Phutthabat shrine, Saraburi)
With the arrival of the eighth lunar month in July, Thai Buddhists all over the kingdom celebrate Khao Phansa, one of the most important events in the religious calendar. Celebrations are held in Buddhist temples all over Thailand, but the most colorful can be found in Saraburi and Ubon Ratchathani.
‘Khao Phansa’, in Thai, refers to the beginning of the Buddhist Lent. During this time, Buddhist monks are restricted to their temples for a period of three months. Young men over 20 years, who have not yet ordained as monks, may take this opportunity to enter the monkhood to observe Buddhist teachings.
Stories of the Buddhist Rains Retreat can be traced back to the beginning of the Buddhist era. At that time, the Lord Buddha saw that monks wandering outside the temple compound might damage growing crops or accidentally kill insects, so he proclaimed that it would be better for the monks to observe the teachings and practice meditation at the monasteries instead.
Celebrations for the start of the Buddhist Lent take place all over Thailand but the most elaborate ceremonies are held in Saraburi where there is ‘Tak Bat Dok Mai’ (offerings of flowers to monks) and in Ubon Ratchathani, where the Candle Festival is held.
In Ubon Ratchathani, 629 km northeast of Bangkok, the Candle Festival is the province’s most popular annual event. On the days before the event, the local authorities will be busy preparing the venue at Thung Si Muang, a public field, similar to Bangkok’s Sanam Luang. At the same time, local artisans make ornately carved beeswax candles of various sizes and shapes. On the day of the festival, the fabulous candles are paraded around the town on colorful floats, accompanied by displays of religious devotion. After the procession, they are presented to local temples.
Saraburi, just 108 km from Bangkok, holds the ‘Tak Bat Dok Mai’ festival to mark the beginning of the Buddhist Lent. The event takes place at the shrine of the Buddha’s Footprint (Phra Phuttabaht shrine). The event draws devout Buddhists from all parts of Thailand.
Source:http://www.thailand.com/travel/festival/festivals_khaophansa.htm
Thailand’s floating markets are among the most-photographed destinations in the country. The river and ‘klong’ markets give a realistic glance of how daily life must have been in earlier times. The floating markets are where the sellers, their boats laden with a wide variety of tropical fruits, flowers, vegetables and fresh produce, come to meet and barter their products with other traders. These days, modern supermarkets and department stores have largely replaced the traditional floating markets, but a few still survive.
There are also some interesting floating markets in Bangkok itself. The Taling Chan floating market is a weekend market in front of Taling Chan district office. Another one is the Wat Sai market in Bangkok’s Thonburi area.
The best way to fully appreciate a floating market is to hire a long-tailed boat for the day. A tour along the klongs also gives you an appreciation of Thai homes and gardens. Don’t forget to get up real early for a trip to see the markets. Usually they kick off at dawn, and most traders have already gone back home by late morning.
During the school break between late March to early April, the Tai Yai ethnic group in Mae Hong Son province hold a special religious ceremony called ‘Poi Sang Long’.
The origins of this festival lie in Buddhist legend. It is believed that the tradition is probably following in the footsteps of Prince Rahula, the Buddha’s own son, who gave up his worldly life to follow his father’s spiritual teachings. Prince Rahula became the youngest ordained monk and the first novice in Buddhism. Subsequently it became a tradition that young boys should ordain to learn Buddhist teachings.
On the second day, a colorful procession is held displaying offerings for the monks. On the third day, the procession once again proceeds through the town and the boys are taken to the temples for the formal ordination ceremony.
THERE ARE few performances more elegant than traditional Thai Dance with its graceful movements, its brilliant color, its soft rhythm and its radiating presence. Thai Dance, known as "Fawn Thai", was originally an art performed for the royal courts of old Siam. The dance troupes were formed within the courts and their precision and beauty was the highlight of every performance. Today, although "Fawn Thai" is still a very important part of royal performances, the dancers are selected and trained from among the general population and dance performances themselves are often an event for the general public.
The accoutrements of the dancers as they perform project a special flare and highlight hand movements, an essential feature of Thai Dance. In the "Fawn Tian", for example, dancers hold lighted candles, while in the "Fawn Leb" they wear six-inch-long brass nails. In the three others they make use of various lengths of scarves. The "Fawn Tian" and the "Fawn Leb" were once sacred dances performed at court functions on days of special festivals. Because of their special significance and the similarity of accompanying instruments, they were usually performed on the same day.
